Press Releases

If you have a geo-related press release, or you have come accross one somewhere on the web, you can post it in this category.

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Press Releases

AMEC To Acquire Specialist U.S. Environmental and Geotechnical Consultancy

June 5, 2008 rockman Comments Off on AMEC To Acquire Specialist U.S. Environmental and Geotechnical Consultancy

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. USA (June 4, 2008) AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, announces today that it has reached agreement to acquire Geomatrix Consultants, Inc. (Geomatrix) from its owner-managers for US$85 million. [Editor] Read on for the entire press release. [/Editor]

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Press Releases

New Study Shows Odds High for Big California Quakes

April 15, 2008 rockman Comments Off on New Study Shows Odds High for Big California Quakes

Released: 4/14/2008 12:02:15 PM

California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years, according scientists using a new model to determine the probability of big quakes.

The likelihood of a major quake of magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years is 46%-and such a quake is most likely to occur in the southern half of the state.

[Editor] At Left: Figure 1. The colors on this California map represent the UCERF probabilities of having a nearby earthquake rupture (within 3 or 4 miles) of magnitude 6.7 or larger in the next 30 years. As shown in the table, the chance of having such an event somewhere in California exceeds 99%. The 30-year probability of an even more powerful quake of magnitude 7.5 or larger is about 46%. [/Editor]

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Press Releases

National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 7-11 2008

April 7, 2008 rockman Comments Off on National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 7-11 2008

 

April 7-11 is National Workzone Awareness Week (NWZAW) which draws attention to the hazards roadway construction crews face from motorists not heeding safety warnings. For 2006—the last year for which data is available—more than 1,000 died in work zones. Figures for 2007 will be released by the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse later this year. Motorists are also at risk for not following work zone safety precautions. They may face damage to their vehicles, injuries, and loss of life. For 2006, 614 motorists died in work zone crashes. (Graphic by Caltrans)

Below are a few items to think about the next time you’re driving through a workzone taken from a Caltrans fact sheet. More after the break (sorry for the “Duh” ones, but I didn’t write them). As someone who occasionally works on the road and knows many more people who do, please, please remember to slow down!

  • Most injuries and deaths in the Cone Zone are from rear-end collisions.
  • If you slow from 65 to 55 mph for one mile, you only lose 10 seconds on your travel time.
  • The first cause of death for people aged 16 to 20 is car crashes. Even if you don’t lose your life causing a car crash, it could still cost you your license or a heavy fine.
  • If a car’s speed is doubled, the stopping distance is doubled twice over. For example, if a car traveling at 30 mph requires 100 feet to stop, the same car at 60 mph takes not 200 but 400 feet to stop.
  • At 60 mph, you’re traveling 88 feet per second. A lot can happen in one second, so give yourself plenty of room to stop in case of an emergency.
  • For the 15,000 miles of California highway Caltrans maintains, it must buy 120,000 new cones every year to replace ones run over by careless drivers.

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Press Releases

Seeing Beneath the Surface: Use of Ground Penetrating Radar in Earth Science Research

February 18, 2008 rockman 2

Boulder, CO, USA –Studying the arrangements of sediments and sedimentary rocks in Earth’s near-surface layers received a recent boost from a new volume published by the Geological Society of America. Stratigraphic Analyses Using GPR, GSA Special Paper 432, offers a state-of-the-art overview of ground penetrating radar applications in the field of shallow subsurface stratigraphic analysis. [more…]

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Press Releases

NOAA, USGS Warning System to Help Protect Southern Californians from Debris Flows and Flash Floods

December 3, 2007 rockman Comments Off on NOAA, USGS Warning System to Help Protect Southern Californians from Debris Flows and Flash Floods

Released: 11/7/2007 1:18:29 PM

Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communication
119 National Center
Reston, VA 20192		 Clarice Nassif Ransom &n=Clarice+Nassif+Ransom">1-click interview
Phone: 703-648-4299

Matt Ocana (NOAA)
Phone: 801-524-5692

Winter Rains on Burn Areas Could Spawn New Danger

NOAA logo A debris flow and flash flood warning system developed jointly by NOAA’s National Weather Service and the U.S. Geological Survey will help protect Southern Californians from potentially devastating debris flows-commonly known as mud slides- and flash floods in and around burn areas created by the recent wildfires.

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Press Releases

54 Dams Slated for Removal in 2007

December 3, 2007 rockman Comments Off on 54 Dams Slated for Removal in 2007

Contact: Garrett Russo, Press Secretary, American Rivers, (202) 347-7550; Stephanie Lindloff, American Rivers, (518) 482-2631

Washington, D.C. — With dams across the country falling into disrepair, dam owners in 12 states have chosen to eliminate obsolete infrastructure by removing their dams. An annual survey of government agencies and private conservation organizations shows that 54 dams in 12 states have been removed or are slated for removal in 2007.

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Press Releases

IPET Risk Maps Released in June for New Orleans Are CORRECT

December 3, 2007 rockman Comments Off on IPET Risk Maps Released in June for New Orleans Are CORRECT

Vicksburg, Miss. – The Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) reaffirmed today that the New Orleans-area risk maps released on June 20, 2007, are correct. A data error discovered in the draft technical supporting documentation released by IPET on Nov. 7 raised questions about risk map accuracy for two sections of New Orleans.

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Press Releases

Lawmakers Step Up To Address Dangerous Dams

November 21, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Lawmakers Step Up To Address Dangerous Dams

Tuesday, October 30, 2007
By: American Rivers

House Approves 200 Million Dollar Authorization to Fix or Remove Ticking Time Bombs

Contacts: Garrett Russo, American Rivers, (202) 423-9494; Laura Wildman, P.E.; American Rivers, (860) 913-3960
 

Washington, D.C.— Millions of Americans are living in the shadow of dangerous dams all across the country, but that may be about to change, thanks to quick action by the House of Representatives to pass the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 (H.R 3224), sponsored by Representative John T. Salazar (D-CO). The bill, which authorizes 200 million dollars to help fix, or remove publicly owned dams all across the country, now heads to the Senate.
 

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